Thursday, October 4, 2007

In the Waiting Room

In the Waiting Room

Lonely in the waiting room
Ignorant of everything around me
Except the perception of my senses
That all except me have what I desire;

My eyes see
The very things I prayed for yet so far
My ears hear
Your answers to other’s prayers
My nose smell
The fulfillment of your promise
I feel
The lack of that which I groan for in secret;

My lips let out a lament
Wondering when my turn will come
For it seems that those behind me
Have been attended to;

And then I hear Your gentle whisper
Like sweet music to my soul
This same time in My Time
I will come to you;
And then I find my peace
In Your Words
I realize I am not alone
So I wait on You
For my expectation is from You only.


The Inspiration
Timi heard the good news of his brother. His brother had just got a scholarship to further his education abroad. All resulting expenses for this education have been taken care of. Timi left the gathering of his rejoicing family. He wept. He was not jealous. He was not envious. He was simply frustrated. He lamented, “I have prayed for this too. I felt peace in my heart that God had answered this prayer. I did everything right. I stood on His word. Even when the enemy has been dropping discouraging thoughts concerning my CGPA, I still stood on the promise of God. Some that bribed their way through have got this scholarship. God, why is my case different?”

Have you ever found yourself in such a situation? When it seems like a zillion years between the time when you prayed and when the prayers are answered? Most likely. Maybe this is not your case now but if you look back, there may have been times like that. If this is your situation now, you are not alone. But the good news is you are in the waiting room. Being in the waiting room means it will soon be your turn to see the physical manifestation of your prayers. It does not matter who comes first or last. What matters is that you will surely be attended to.

It is very discouraging when you seem to have done everything right yet the prayers don’t seem to be answered. The Psalmist said, “I have been young, and now I am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” [Psalm 37:25]. You can be assured that God will never forsake you nor will your seed be in need. All you need to do is to wait. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint [Isaiah 40:12]

What can you do while you are waiting on God? By the way, waiting on God does not mean you are waiting for Him to answer your prayer. You are waiting for the physical manifestation of your prayer because He has already answered your prayer.

1. Keep praying: - this means keep being in communication with God not repeating what you have already asked of Him. Communication improves your relationship with God and by so doing you may understand the purpose for the waiting period. [Luke 21:36; Ephesians 6:18].

2. Stand on His Word: - Whatever you desire, as long as it is His Will, has His Word backing it. Stand on His Word. Even when the enemy tries to test it, do not let go. His word will come to pass because His word will never return to Him void [Isaiah 55:11] and He watches over His word to perform it [Jeremiah 1:12].

3. Be mindful of what you hear and meditate on: - Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God [Romans 10:17]. Do not find yourself listening to words that will make you disbelieve what has He has promised you but delve more into His Word. Take every testimony as a reminder that your turn is coming soon.

4. Rejoice with others: - especially when it comes to the very thing you believe God for. When you rejoice with others, when you sow seeds into their lives, you will not even realize it when your prayer has been answered.

5. Visualize the realization of your dream: - Faith without works is dead [James 2:20]. You need to act like you believe that your prayer has been answered. Confess positively. Visualize it. Thank God for it [Psalm 52:9]. Talk about it like it exists.

6. Sow a seed: - Sowing precedes reaping – it is a natural principle. But you need to sow in good ground to reap something good. Spend time with God knowing what to sow, how to sow and where to sow. Even when it seems painful to sow, the results are tremendous [Psalm 126:5-6].

7. Do not tell God how or help God to answer your prayer: - God’s ways are not our ways. His way is perfect [Psalm 18:30]. His timing is perfect [Ecclesiastics 3:11]. He is mighty in wisdom [Job 36:5]. Who are we to tell Him how best to do it? One thing I know is when He does His thing; HE does it exceedingly above our expectations. Trust Him with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding [Proverbs 3:5-6].

8. Wait on the Lord: - While you are waiting, wait on God, not on man. It is God that will give you the words and strength to go on. It is God that is always with you and will love you just the way you are [Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62:5].

This list is not exhaustive nor is it a rule of thumb. You alone know how your relationship with God is.
Let me close now with these words: Do not be weary in doing good for in due season you will reap if you do not lose heart [Galatians 6:9].
Have a blessed day ahead.

3 comments:

Red Sapphire said...

I rushed to check it out...very inspiring i must say...adding it to my blog roll.Thanks rita, am so glad am not the only one going thru this..lots of love

Kafo said...

well said

this is beautiful

thanks once again Rita

Niki said...

Well, well well I thought I was the only one who felt like Timi. The poem describes my frustrations cleary, why it is that those 'behind' are attended to first.
Why it is others have what I want whilst I'm still lacking and why I'm doing everything right yet it seems that those who do wrong get a pat on the back and i'm still without. Yup the poem is describes everything perfectly.